South Bay : DOG ABUSE DECISION

A 36-year-old Hawthorne man was fined $2,000 and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service Wednesday for lashing a dog to the back of his pickup truck and dragging the animal along city streets for more than a mile.

Compton Superior Court Judge Enrique Romero also gave Aisea Tuuholoaki three year's probation and ordered him to undergo animal care counseling for the July 31 incident in which firefighters pulled over the self-employed gardener after a witness reported nearly hitting the semi-conscious dog when it momentarily skidded into oncoming traffic.

According to Deputy Dist. Atty. Barbara Block, Tuuholoaki accepted the dog as a gift from a client and tied one end of a rope to the dog's neck and another to the back of his truck because he had no room in the vehicle's cab or the bed.

The prosecutor also quoted Tuuholoaki as saying he was driving no faster than 10 m.p.h. and thought the 2-year-old German shepherd mix would simply trot along behind.

He set out from Stulman Avenue and 157th Street and drove 1 1/2 miles to Main and 149th streets before he was pulled over. Firefighters found the dog bloodied and bruised with splintered claws and a foaming mouth.

Officials at the Carson animal shelter have nursed the dog back to health and are expected to place it up for adoption today. They named it Lucky.

Tuuholoaki pleaded no contest to criminal animal cruelty charges Monday and could have received one year in jail.

Instead, Romero ordered him to pay $500 to an animal advocacy group, $500 to a victim restitution fund and $1,000 reimbursement for care and boarding of the dog. Tuuholoaki must also perform his community services at an animal shelter.